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With
images of children in cages, separated from their parents, and would-be
migrants floating on overloaded boats in the Mediterranean becoming fixtures in
the news media, politicians are struggling to find solutions to the ongoing
issues related to migrant flows. Immigration has become a flashpoint not only
in the U.S., but it has also had an impact on the Brexit vote in the United
Kingdom, led to instability in Angela Merkel’s government in Germany, and has
influenced the rise of populist parties across Europe. Since I began studying
the politics of immigration in the 1990s, it is difficult to think of a time
that the issue has had more of an impact on politics. This brief overview of
immigration policy developments in the U.S. and Europe explains how policy
toward migrants has interacted with attitudes toward racial and religious
minorities over time. Many studies have shown that recent voting behavior in
the U.S. and Europe has been tied to racism and xenophobia. This will continue
to be a challenge to democratic values as “white” populations become the
minority amidst demographic change.